Travel Date: 2020/06/20~06/25
Our almost one-week-long holiday took us to the eastern part of Taiwan, exploring Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung. We started our journey by heading north from Tainan and made a stop at Fulong Beach in New Taipei to experience the Sand Sculpture Festival. The drive took us approximately 4 hours. From there, we continued to Yilan, where we visited various attractions such as Toucheng Town, Brick Kiln, Wine Museum, Confucius Temple, night markets, and the Nanfangao Lookout. We spent two enjoyable days exploring Yilan before moving on to Hualien.
During our visit to Hualien, we had the opportunity to experience the breathtaking Taroko National Park for the first time. The scooter ride along the winding roads next to the tall cliffs felt a bit thrilling but was absolutely worth it for the stunning views. We also explored some of the Japanese remains in Hualien, including the Manor House and Pine Garden. Although I personally feel that Hualien may be slightly less captivating than Yilan or Taitung, we still enjoyed our time there.
On our way to Taitung, we made a stop at a beautiful waterfall and also visited Luye Highlands. As we typically visit Taitung more frequently, we didn't plan to stay there this time and decided to drive back to Tainan. However, as it coincided with the beginning of a long weekend, accommodations were fully booked, and traffic started to get heavier. If you're interested, I have many posts introducing other attractions in these three counties, so feel free to check them out. The eastern part of Taiwan is truly a beautiful region to explore.
Yilan Confucius Temple (宜蘭孔廟)
The Confucius Temple in Yilan is located in Xiaolianli and was originally built in 1865. The old temple resembled the Confucius Temple in Tainan. However, it was moved to its current site in 1953, resulting in the demolition of the old temple.
The temple covers an area of about 1,000 pings (approximately 300 m2). Initially, only the Panchi Lake and the Huangmen Gate were completed due to a shortage of funds during the temple's construction. In 1868, Yang Shifang, a resident of the Yi Dynasty, along with a few others, decided to contribute to the construction of the temple. The project began on August 15th, 1869. Chen Weiying, the mayor of Yangshan Academy, imitated the style of the Confucius Temple in Tainan, and it took ten years to complete the construction.
In 1875, when the Karmaland Hall was transformed into Yilan County, Confucianism was established in this temple. That same year, Minglun Hall was completed. In 1878, additional parts of the temple, including the Menmen, Wancheng Palace Wall, Qingyun Bridge, and an archway, were completed.
During the Japanese occupation, the Confucius Temple was converted into a garrison hospital and was renovated in 1905. It was bombed during World War II by the Allied forces due to the presence of a grain storage warehouse. By the postwar period, the main building had suffered extensive damage. In March 1949, Chen Jiangliu, the mayor of Yuanshan Township, proposed to the mayor of Yilan City to move the Confucian Temple to the Yilan Shrine. However, the temple was ultimately relocated to the Xiaolianli area, resulting in public protests.
During the relocation process, only the lying steles were found from the stone monuments of the Confucius Temple. The original Xia Ma monument from the Qing Dynasty, as well as the inscriptions on the construction of the Kamalanyi Temple and the restoration of the Confucius Temple during the Japanese occupation period, could not be found. The foundation stones were settled in Zhongshan Park of Yilan City as rest benches for citizens. The inauguration ceremony for the new temple took place on January 29, 1955. Under the county magistrate Chen Jindong, the renovation of the temple's left and right halls was completed in 1967.
During the tenure of County President Li Fengming, various projects including the Wancheng Palace Wall, Limen, Yilu, Panchi, Qingyun Bridge, Liku, Leku, Dongxiu, Dongxixiang, and others were completed in the autumn of 1977. Finally, in the spring of 1980, the Laixing gate was completed, signifying the full restoration of the entire Confucius Temple.
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